Death By Committee

Erik Bernstein Crisis Prevention

How Some Well-Intentioned Meetings Increase the Risk of Crises Committees can be very useful for hearing different points of view, working out details of plans, and building consensus. Committees can also be the inadvertent cause of completely preventable crises and/or exacerbate the damage from unpreventable crises. I remember around the …

Crisis Manager On The Spot Returns!

Erik Bernstein crisis expert

Join us for quick pro tips from real crisis management consultants We’re bringing back a popular Bernstein Crisis Management series of short, informative blog posts, “Crisis Manager On The Spot”! These will typically feature questions for a crisis management consultant or other crisis-related expert, submitted by curious readers and our …

The 5 Top Crisis-Causing Mistakes in Customer Service

Erik Bernstein crisis management

  The front desk person at a financial services firm I visited some time ago had a marvelous title on her nameplate, “Director of First Impressions.” She knew that she was in a make or break position for her firm, that initial opinions of new clients may well be influenced …

Know These Leadership Diseases So You Can Avoid Them

Erik Bernstein crisis leadership

  [Editor’s note: The author of this post, Paul Biddle MBE, has 23 years in UK Law Enforcement along with multiple tours of Iraq & Afghanistan. In other words, he knows some things about real world crisis management and crisis leadership. Today he explores issues, or as he calls them diseases, …

Avoiding the Somebody Else’s Problem Field

Erik Bernstein crisis management

Avoiding the Somebody Else’s Problem Field Don’t make this common, and often damaging, crisis management mistake! In The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, author Douglas Adams famously described the “Somebody Else’s Problem” (SEP) cloaking device as the perfect way to hide even the most noticeable of items, writing, “An SEP …

Why Crisis Management Best Practices Matter To You

Erik Bernstein crisis management

Ever since the early days of Bernstein Crisis Management we’ve referred to much of what we share with readers as, “for all crisis managers, whether it’s in their job description or not”. While we know most of the folks who wind up on our site are wearing other hats in …

When Crisis Comms is the Right Thing to Do

Erik Bernstein crisis communications

  [Editor’s note: This post is quite interesting as it examines a topic that’s not often approached in the public eye. If a company in crisis knows it’s going out of business regardless of how things play out, how should crisis communications be approached? What are your obligations, and what’s …

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot Steps In It With Hot Mic

Erik Bernstein crisis communications

A hot mic captured Mayor Lori Lightfoot calling a Fraternal Order of Police vice president an “FOP clown” during Wednesday’s City Council meeting, but she later apologized and acknowledged it was inappropriate for her “to say that out loud.” As Fraternal Order of Police Vice President Patrick Murray approached the microphone …

Smart or Risky? Starbucks Instructs Employees On Crisis Comms After Former CEO Announces Presidential Bid

Erik Bernstein crisis communications

  Like it or not, when someone’s represented your company publicly for many years that association sticks around after they retire. That’s a lesson Starbucks is learning the hard way after former CEO and chairman Howard Schultz announced that he was considering a 2020 presidential run. Anticipating questions from customers …

Crying Wolf Pt. 3 – How to Prevent the Situation from Spiraling into a Crisis

Erik Bernstein crisis management

  [Editor’s note: This compelling blog series comes to us from international crisis management expert and Bernstein Crisis team member Tim Scerba.] How to Prevent the Situation from Spiraling into a Crisis Once a situation exists that has the potential to become a crisis, there are specific conditions that can …

Crying Wolf Pt. 2 – The Elements of a Crisis

Erik Bernstein crisis management

  [Editor’s note: This compelling blog series comes to us from international crisis management expert and Bernstein Crisis team member Tim Scerba.] The Elements of a Crisis A key part of crisis preparedness and issues management planning is remembering that a crisis will only occur under very specific circumstances.  First, …

How to Spot a Crisis 101: What is a Crisis?

Erik Bernstein crisis preparedness Leave a Comment

Spot a crisis early to minimize damage How do you spot a crisis? Clients are frequently surprised when they bring us in because of what they’ve deemed a “potential problem” and we inform them they’re heading straight for a full-blown crisis. While it’s usually obvious once the crisis hits you smack …

Too Close to See: Why Amazon’s Handling of Whole Foods Could Lead to Crisis

Erik Bernstein crisis management Leave a Comment

It’s a common occurrence for a crisis management pro – you’re brought into a case, start asking questions, and immediately spot red flags so blatant it seems impossible they were missed. Yet, more often than not, there’s no willful ignorance at work. In this new monthly series we’ll look at organizations …

The Very Hard Truth About Your Next Major Natural Disaster

Jonathan Bernstein crisis planning 1 Comment

A discussion of some tough-to-swallow disaster preparedness truths, by Jonathan Bernstein If you’ve been denial about disaster preparedness, this may be a good time for you to avert your eyes, because you’re not going to like what I have to say.  It centers around this quote by an Emergency Services Coordinator …